Chief Justice Roberts Defends Judiciary in Rare Public Statement

Chief Justice John Roberts has issued a rare public statement in which he defended his branch of government. The statement appears to be in direct response to President Trump's rebuke of the Ninth Circuit, which on Tuesday blocked his new asylum rule.

Earlier this month the White House issued a new directive that migrants seeking asylum could only do so at certain points of entry along the border. On Monday, Judge Jon S. Tigar said not so fast, issuing a temporary restraining order against the Trump order and ruling that migrants could seek asylum anywhere along the border.

"Whatever the scope of the president’s authority, he may not rewrite the immigration laws to impose a condition that Congress has expressly forbidden,” Tigar wrote.

On Tuesday, Trump sounded off on Tigar's decision, calling the 9th Circuit Court a "disgrace." He went on to say that anyone who "wants to sue the United States, they'll file their case in the Ninth Circuit and it means an automatic loss [for the government]."